Birender Singh Dhanoa | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2016 | |
| 56thChairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee | |
| In office 31 May 2019 – 27 September 2019 | |
| President | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Preceded by | Sunil Lanba |
| Succeeded by | Bipin Rawat |
| 22ndChief of the Air Staff | |
| In office 31 December 2016 – 30 September 2019 | |
| President | Pranab Mukherjee Ram Nath Kovind |
| Preceded by | Arup Raha |
| Succeeded by | Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria |
| 40thVice Chief of the Air Staff | |
| In office 31 May 2015 – 31 December 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Ravi Kant Sharma |
| Succeeded by | Shirish Baban Deo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-09-07)7 September 1957 (age 68) |
| Spouse | Kamalpreet Kaur Dhanoa |
| Children | 1 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch/service |  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | June 1978 - 30 September 2019 |
| Rank |  Air Chief Marshal |
| Unit | No. 17 Squadron |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | Kargil War Balakot Airstrike |
| Service number | 15405[2] |
| Awards | |
Air Chief MarshalBirender Singh Dhanoa,PVSM,AVSM,YSM,VM,ADC is an Indian air force officer who was the 22ndChief of the Air Staff of theIndian Air Force and served from 31 December 2016 to 30 September 2019.[3][4][5] Dhanoa also served as theChairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.[6][7]
As of July 2021, Dhanoa is serving as a non-executive and independent director atHero MotoCorp.[8]
Dhanoa was born inDeoghar in the Indianstate ofBihar (nowJharkhand) to Sukhdev Kaur and Sorain Singh in aJat Sikh family.[9][10] His ancestral village is Gharuan in the state ofPunjab near Chandigarh and Mohali.[11]
Dhanoa's father, Sorain Singh, anIAS officer, served as theChief Secretary to the governments of Punjab and Bihar during the 1980s and later as an advisor to the Punjabstate governor and as anElection Commissioner of India.[12] His grandfather, Capt. Sant Singh, had fought inWorld War II as a captain of theBritish Indian Army.[13]
Dhanoa attendedSt. Xavier's School, Ranchi.[14] He then studied atSt. George's College, Mussoorie, from 1968 to 1969. He thereon joinedRashtriya Indian Military College,Dehradun, and later graduated fromNational Defence Academy,Pune. He also attended a staff course at theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington, Tamil Nadu, in 1992.[15][16]
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Dhanoa was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in June 1978. He has flown various types of fighter jets and is a qualifiedflying instructor. He has flown fighter aircraft across the spectrum includingHJT-16 Kiran,MiG-21,SEPECAT Jaguar,MiG-29 andSu-30MKI. He held several key operational and administrative appointments in his 41 years of career including Director Targeting Cell at Air Headquarters, Director Fighter Operations & War Planning at HeadquartersWestern Air Command, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters, Senior Air Staff Officer ofEastern andWestern Air Command and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief ofSouth Western Air Command (1 November - 31 May 2015).[17] He has held instructional appointments of Senior Air Instructor and Chief Air Instructor at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and leader of an Indian Air Force Training Team abroad.
Dhanoa was Commanding Officer of a front lineground attackfighter squadron during theKargil Conflict in 1999. Under his leadership the squadron devised innovative methods of night bombing at high altitudes which had never been attempted before. His squadron was adjudged the best fighter squadron of HQ WAC. He was awardedYudh Seva Medal (YSM) andVayu Sena Medal (VM) for his gallant actions in this conflict.[3][18]
Before assuming the office ofVice Chief of the Air Staff at Air HQ from Air Marshal Ravi Kant Sharma on 1 June 2015, he was theAir Officer Commanding-in-Chief of theSouth Western Air Command. Air MarshalRavinder Kumar Dhir succeeded him as the AOC-in-C of South Western Air Command.[19][20]
On 17 December 2016, the Government of India designated Air Marshal Dhanoa as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force.[21][3]
| Country | Date | Purpose | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | |||
 France | 17 - 20 July |
| [22][23] |
 Australia | 19 - 22 September |
| [24] |
 United States | 26 - 28 September |
| [25] |
 Vietnam | 30 October - 3 November |
| [26] |
 Sri Lanka | 11 - 14 December |
| [27] |
| 2018 | |||
 Israel | 21 - 24 May |
| [28] |
 Brazil | 4 - 7 June |
| [29] |
 United Kingdom | 9 - 15 July |
| [30] |
 Myanmar | 3 - 8 September |
| [31] |
 Malaysia | |||
| 2019 | |||
 Thailand | 26-28 August |
| [32] |
Dhanoa has been awarded several medals: theParam Vishisht Seva Medal (2016), theAti Vishisht Seva Medal (2015), theYudh Seva Medal (1999), and theVayu Sena Medal (1999). He was also appointed as HonoraryADC to thePresident of India on 1 August 2015.[19][33][34][3][2]
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Shri S.S. Dhanoa: 16.10.1989 to 02.01.1990
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee 30 May 2019 - 27 September 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of the Air Staff (India) 31 December 2016 - 30 September 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ravi Kant Sharma | Vice Chief of the Air Staff (India) 31 May 2015 - 31 December 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,South Western Air Command 1 November 2014 - 31 May 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force (1947–1948) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (1948–1950) | ||
| Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955) | ||
| Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present) |
| |
(**Seconded from theRoyal Air Force) | ||
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